Bring Me to Life
by IceAge Mutant
Summary: "I swear to avenge you. Even if it kills me" The third and final installment in the whole Diego and Shira tragedy trilogy. Inspired by the song "Wake Me Up" by Evanescence
1. Chapter 1

**Ok guys this is the final installment of the Diego and Shira tragedy. unlike my previous two story's, this one will be up to 3 or 4 chapters. also this story is inspired by the song _M_**_**y Immortal **_**by Evanescence, so listen to that when i tell you to, which is kinda weird because ill tell you to do that in the last chapter, but go ahead and listen to it to get the mood of the story if you want to. As always i own nothing except the idea and the OC's. So with that, enjoy the story!**

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><p><strong>CH1<strong>

Time seems to slow down. I can barely hear anything, except for my own heart beat pounding against my chest.

I'm not sure what it is, either the blood loss or the pain that is dulling me, but I can still see the scene before me unfold, and as much as I want to jump back into reality, I can't, because this is reality.

Peaches, Sid, Granny, Crash and Eddie all follow Ellie's orders to run back to the safety of your clearing. Manny chases the rogue saber back into the foliage of the forest, swinging his tusks in defense, while Ellie holds me back as I struggle to get out of her hold. I try to use all my strength to free myself, only for excruciating pain to run through my body from the large wound on my lower ribs.

"DIEGO!" I yell in a fruitless effort to the body ahead of me, for what feels like the hundredth time. I can no longer tell if he is still alive.

An eternity seems to pass before Manny finally emerges from the brush, his tusks covered in blood and his trunk circled with claw marks. This is when time returns to normal. Ellie puts me on the ground carefully, as if I might break.

I limp to his side as fast as I can without blacking out from the pain. When I finally reach him, I let out a shaky sob of horror.

His body is drenched in blood, mostly coming from a large gash in his upper abdomen. I can see the tip of one of his bones. His body is coated in deep claw marks, ranging from his head to his hind legs. There are at least five punctures on him from the fangs that pierced his hide again, and again. One that has torn through his ear, two on his neck, one up close to his head and one next to his left shoulder, one his right hip, and one on his stomach. I let out a strangled noise.

"Oh god..." I whisper under my breath. His eyes are half closed, one of them has blood calming it of the lid.

"Diego?" I say in a small voice that isn't my own. I lick his cheek, trying to get a response. "Hey stay with me."

He looks up at me, his hazel eyes almost blank.

"You are going to be ok..." I say biting down the tears that threaten to spill over. "You can get through this..."

He lets out a strangled cough, spitting up blood. "S-Shira..." He says, his breathing is shallow and slow. "We- we both know I can't..."

"Yes, yes you can!" I almost yell. I'm not sure who I'm trying to convince anymore, him or myself.

"No I can't..." He breathes as his body slumps even more, sounding so weak it scares me.

I can feel the shadows against my back but I don't turn around, all my focus is on him.

"S-s-stay with me..." I repeat again. He gives me a look that could very well be his last, before moving his eyes to the figures behind me.

"Manny?" He says in confusion.

"Ya buddy I'm here" says the large mammoth, his voice cracks, threatening to release its tears

"I'm here too tiger." Says Sid, his lisp shaky.

"Thank you for everything..." Diego tells them. He is wincing in pain as he try's to take bigger breaths.

"We really should be thanking you." Says Manny. "You saved all of us at least once. The possums during the flood, Peaches when she was stuck in that tree, Ellie when she went into labor... Defending me against Your old pack..."

"Not to mention the hundreds of times you saved me" says Sid with a sad laugh

Diego gives a weak smile "Well thanks for showing me how great a herd is." It sounds like he's talking to more than just them now, I think the rest of the herd is there. There is a pause as he tries to catch his breath. Then he looks at me, his eyes filled with a mix of love and sorrow.

"And Shira..." He says with such effort I'm afraid he might pass out before he can finish.

"Yes..." I almost plead.

"I love you..." All the muscles in his body go slack, his eyes glaze over, and he takes his last breath. His bloody coat shining in the setting sun's rays.

"Diego...?" I croak. No response. "Diego!" I say again, hoping somehow he will come back, but we all know that's unsensible. I throw myself over his body and finally let the tears flood out.

I lose count of how long I stay there, but when I reopen my eyes it is dark and cold, just like how i feel inside. I have cried for so long, that no more tears leak through my eyes. I'm still shaking. A storm of emotions rages inside me. Complete distress, the most sadness I have ever felt, and the pure rage hatred I have for myself. This is all my fault. He is dead because of me! And I couldn't even save him!

I get up and look over his body, in all its bloody glory.

"I swear to god," I say between shaky, dry sobs "I will avenge you. Even if it kills me..."

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><p><strong>So what did you guys think? please leave reviews and tell me what you think the rest of the story will be like, i always like to know what you people and potatoes are thinking<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys sorry i havnt updated this in a while, but here is chapter 2**

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><p>CH2<p>

That night I dreamed of the previous events of that day. The blood, the slashing claws and gnashing teeth. But I was more afraid in my dreams then in reality. I couldn't fight. I had to watch again and again as his life was literally ripped out of him.

The day started out average enough. The herd had woken up and we all went out to get our usual breakfast. Me and Diego went out on our own to hunt down some prey. A deer or some fish, any type of meat would do. But that's when we discovered the scent.

"You smell that?" Diego asked me, lifting his head up to get a good whiff of the winds. We were making our way to the usual hunting grounds.

I lifted my nose to the air, taking in a deep breath and let out a growl when I identified the smell. "Saber..." I hissed. "Should we find out where it is?"

Diego took on a thoughtful expression, as if figuring out the best way to track this loner down.

"I want you to go back to the herd." He ordered me.

"What?" I was appalled. He does remember who he is talking to. Right? "Diego I can handle this guy. If you forgot, I used to be a pirate. I was forced to fight to stay alive. It will be easier to take him down with the both of us."

He gave me a skeptical glance. "Shira please go back to the herd."

I scoffed. "Yeah, uh, I'm sorry but that's not happening."

"Shira, go back to the herd"

"No!" I backed away with resistance.

He looked at me with a tired expression, "Fine, but stay close."

I just rolled my eyes. This wasn't him . Usually he would be fine with me getting into a fight, it brought out our packtality. Then again, he had been more protective since the death of our cub, I guess he just doesn't want anything to happen to me.

We tracked the scent to a thicker part of the forest.

'Smart' I thought. And it was. If you were a lone saber you'd want a place that others couldn't get to you easily.

"So what now?" Diego said, his eyes look through the undergrowth.

I take it into consideration. "Let me go in first."

"What, no! We don't know if this is a rogue, it could be dangerous"

I gave him a look and rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine. I'm small and I can run through this undergrowth with no problem. If anything happens I'll call." Quickly I gave him a kiss on the cheek before dashing into the thicket.

The branches and overgrown grass tugged at my coat as I quietly made my way through the bushes. I let my ears perk up at a small noise set before me. Silently I crept forward, staying close to the ground. When I got to a bush that obscured my vision I stopped to try and look through it.

There before me was a large saber, bigger than Diego and certainly bigger than me. His pelt was a rich brown, that glistened over his muscular body. In some aspect I suppose he was handsome, but he wasn't my type. He was too masculine, too brutish. I made the mistake of shifting my weight to my other foot causing a twig beneath me to snap. 'Crap!'

The saber looked up from where he was and and shouted out: "Who's there?"

I put my weight onto my back legs, getting ready to spring and attack if it was needed.

"Please if you are out there please show yourself. I'm hurt and I have no idea where I am."

'Yeah right' I thought. Falling for that would be the oldest trick in the book. So I sprung into action. Pushing myself from my hiding spot, I lept through the air and landed on the saber, causing a forced "Ooof!" From him.

"What the hell are you doing here, and who the hell are you?" I hissed under my breath. He tried struggling from under me, but I quickly snapped at the skin at the back of his neck. "Don't try and get away, unless you want to be missing an ear."

"Ok, ok! My name Hessen, I woke up on the beach of this place after an earthquake hit my home a few weeks back!"

"I am going to get up," I growled to him, forcing a strict tone into my voice "and when I do, you will not try and attack me, or run away. Understand?" He nodded urgently, and a got off, but I was still ready to fight.

As he turned around I saw the shock on his face that I should have expected. It was rare to find silver sabers, after all.

"Now if you would stop gawking at me and tell me about your travels here, I might let you leave without any injuries." I said in a cold, emotionless tone.

"As I said," he repeat, backing away from me. "My name is Hessen. A couple of weeks- or actually months ago, an earthquake hit my old home. I was thrown into the ocean on a small piece of land and-"

"You said it happend a couple of months ago?" I interrupted. "How were you able to stay alive without fresh water or food?"

"I was able to stop at a few different islands. I would have stayed on them but most of them had other predators living on them. Most tried to attack and kill me." He explained. "Where's your pack?"

It wasn't smart to tell him that me and Diego were the only sabers on the island. He would for sure try and attack us then. "A small group of them are waiting outside this thicket in case you try and attack." I lied. "So I recommend not trying anything unless you want your throat ripped out."

He heaved a heavy sigh. "Of course... Always forced on the move again."

I looked at him, glancing over his body for any weaknesses. "You mentioned that you were hurt, I don't see any injuries."

"Oh, yes well, I ended up getting in a fight with some wolves on another island," he explained. "One of them bit my paw. It's not a big problem, it's just harder to defend myself and hunt. I also got sick a few days ago, and I'm still regaining my strength."

'Well you're an idiot,' I thought to myself 'you completely gave away your weakness.'

"If you don't mind me asking," he said "what's your name?"

"Shira."

"Well Shira, uh... Don't mean to be impulsive, but I must say you have a beautiful coat. Must be very useful in the snow during hunting."

'Great... Trying to make small talk'

"Thank you, but you really shouldn't try and flatter your attacker."

"Are you really my attacker?" He asked. "I mean, you didn't kill me, I should be thanking you for that."

"Well, don't thank me just yet."

'Was he really trying to be nice to me? Or just catch me off guard?'

"So Shira tell me about your pack. How many of you are there?"

I didn't want to lie and have him thinking that he could join us. Instead he would be greeted by a group of herbivores. "There's nine of us." I explained, counting up the herd members. "Our alpha, Manny, his wife and daughter, his two brothers in law, two of his old friends, a senior, and me."

"If you don't mind me asking," he looked me over, making me uncomfortable. "Do you think they would let me join?"

"Oh , of course! Our alpha doesn't take kindly to strangers" I explained.

"Oh..." He sounded disappointed. "I see."

Just then I heard rustling in the bushes, and Diego jumped out in a defensive position.

"You were taking to long," he hissed "what's going on?"

"Who's this?" Hessen asked looking at Diego inquisitively.

"This is Diego," I said walking over to his side. "A member of my pack, and my mate."

"Your mate?" Something seemed to crack in his mind when I said those words. And I noticed my mistake. He wanted to see if I was eligible to mate with, that's why he was asking those questions. His back started to bristle with anger and his muscles tightened. He let out a fierce roar an tackled Diego. The two of them rolled around and started to claw at each other. Diego wouldn't be able to fight him off, as I said he was bigger and stronger then both him and me. So I leapt in to help. Landing on Hessen's back, I clawed at his shoulders trying to get a grip, and I when I did I bit into his ear and ended up taking a piece of it's flesh off. He let out a roar of pain, throwing me off in the process, but this gave Diego time to escape from his grip, but not before throwing his claws up into Hessen's face.

The two of us started to sprint out of the thicket, back towards the beach with our new enemy on our tails, shouting out death threats. When we got to the sandy shore, we ran in the direction of our home through the shallow surf, trying to lose our scent. My heart pounded in my ears as we ran, adrenaline rushing through me. I was suddenly thrown into the surf and pushed under the water. I was unable to breath, but through the murky water I could see my attacker and the blood dripping off of the claw marks of his face. He was soon thrown off me by a wave, and as I resurfaced I saw Diego pulling him away from the skin one of his shoulders.

"SWIM!" Yelled Diego, trying to get past the other male and into the deeper waters. Following his orders, I gave my strength into pushing myself away from shore. Away from Diego.

As I bobbed up and down in the water, my eyes searched for anything that would help keep me afloat. One thing about the tropics, there is barely any ice in the water.

I heard splashing behind me, and I turned myself around in the water as fast as I could, still on edge. Only to come face to face with my mate.

"Oh thank god you're ok!" I paddled over to him. He had a cut along his left eyebrow, but besides that he seemed alright. Our attacker was still on the beach though. We couldn't get back into shore from here.

"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine." He reassured me, panting from his fight and effort to escape. His head swiveled the area, no doubt looking for a floating device. "Over there." He motioned to a large branch in the water a few yards away, and we paddled over to it.

Once we reached the floating piece of wood, we through our front legs over it, trying to keep ourselves afloat to catch our breath.

"Ok, I have an idea." Diego looked to the end of the cove that we were stuck in. "We need to paddle this over to the next cove, and then get straight to the herd. We can use this branch to help us float, and since we're in the water that rogue won't be able to follow our scent. Do you think you can make it?"

I gave him a willing nod, wanting to get back on land as soon as possible. With that we started a swim towards safety.

When we finally got to shore, we collapsed on the sand, panting like dogs. My muscles burned all over my body, and couldn't even feel my paws anymore. But we still weren't safe. Both of us were exhausted, and had sustained mild injuries. We wouldn't be able to fend that rogue off if he somehow found us.

"Come on," I urged, pushing myself up off the warm sand. "We need to get back to the herd." Diego let out a groan but followed my lead as we ran into the forest in search of our companions.

When we finally found Manny and Ellie, it was a complete relief, although I couldn't say the sight of us was the same for them.

"What happened to you two?!" Ellie asked, very concerned as she ran over to us.

"Rogue...saber...on island...attacked us..." Diego got out through labored gasps of air.

"Where is he? We got to get everyone home, if he was able to attack you guys they won't be able to defend themselves!" Manny rushed up to us. I could already see the gears in his mind thinking of where Peaches would be.

"The... next cove over." I panted. "We had to swim around...to loose our scent... He should be thrown off but we can't be to sure."

"Ok, ok. Ellie you take them back to the clearing, get them patched up. I'll go find everyone else." He was off in an instant.

Ellie ushered us to the herds clearing. "Come on, you both looked pretty beaten up."

When we finally got there, she forced us to sit down while she went to get some fresh water for us to drink. When she came back she plunked the small blow like wood piece in front of us, which we drained hurriedly.

"Alright now tell me exactly what happened." She ordered us in her very motherly 'no nonsense' tone.

"We were going out on a hunt this morning, as usual." I explained. "When we were out we caught the scent of a saber, and decided to follow it. We traced it to a thicket and I went in first because I could maneuver through it with more ease. I ended up finding the saber, who was a very large male, but he wasn't hostile towards me, which seemed off. But when Diego here entered the scene the guy went berserk and attacked us. Keep in mind he was bigger and stronger then both me and Diego, so even though we tried to fight him, he was able to overcome us. To escape we had to run into the ocean and swim back home."

"I see..." Ellie pursed her lips like she always did when she was thinking. "Well can you guys tell us when you go on a hunt from now on? It would just make it easier to come in and help if you run into him again."

"Yeah and have Sid come along to bother us and scare away the prey, what a fantastic idea!" Diego scoffed sarcastically. I just rolled my eyes at mate.

He directed his next words toward me. "Also, you're not going on any hunts alone."

"What?!" I couldn't believe him. "If it wasn't for me that guy would have skinned you alive!"

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for you we wouldn't have gone after that guy and I wouldn't have to try and hold him back during the fight!"

"I COULD HAVE HELD HIM OFF!"

"WELL OF IT WASN'T FOR ME THAT GUY WOULD HAVE EITHER TRIED TO IMPREGNATE YOU OR KILLed YOU!" He roared at me.

I fell silent at that. He knew any subject about having kids or pregnancy was touchy with me.

"Well then you wouldn't have to worry because A) the cubs probably wouldn't survive, and B) if they did I would kill them just like I would their forced father." I growled in a harsh tone. That comment seemed to take him aback, and of course it would. The softie hadn't been in such harsh conditions as I had on Gutt's ship.

Just then Ellie gave me a small hit to the head and proceeded to do the same to Diego, like Manny would with Sid.

"I don't know if you two noticed, but I'm still here. Now the both of you cut it out!" She scolded us.

Diego snorted at her and started to walk away. "Yeah whatever."

"You're acting like a stupid teenager right now you know." Ellie called after him.

"Yeah and guess what? You're not my mother!" He retorted back over his shoulder.

I just heaved a sigh. "He really is acting like a spoiled adolescent." I said to my mammoth friend.

Ellie through me a stern look. "You aren't doing any better missy."

"Hmm, you really do sound like my mother." I said with a small chuckle.

"Oh shut up." She looked away from me, and although I didn't see it, I could tell she rolled her eyes at me.

"Just get some rest," She said after a short pause. "You had one hell of a morning."

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><p>After mine and Diego's argument earlier, I decided to lay down and take a nap. I was abruptly woken when Sid decided to swipe his disgusting tail across my nose. I let out a growl at him when he did this, making him scream and jump back.<p>

"Gaaaa! Jeez Shira, I thought you were sleeping." He said.

"I was," I replied as I got up. "But someone decided to wake me up with his dusty tail."

"Hehe... Ya sorry about that." He laughed nervously. I rolled my eyes at his usual clumsiness, and that's when I noticed he was pulling a bunch of logs and twigs on a large piece of bark connected to a vine, the other end in his paw.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh! Since we have a rouge saber on our hands I thought it would be a good idea to store up on firewood."

"Why?" I asked confused. We were surrounded by woodland, couldn't he just walk out of the clearing and get some?

"Well so that I don't get attacked,obviously! I can't have my bodyguards with me all the time."

"Riiight ... I take it your "bodyguards" are my mate and Manny."

"Who else would it be? By the way where is Diego anyways?" He said looking around the clearing.

"Me and him had a fight. He stormed off to have a temper tantrum."

"What! You mean you guys let him leave the camp? With that monster on the loose?!"

*sigh*"Sid, the saber lost our scent, he couldn't have followed us. Besides Diego is faster than that guy."

"Well if you say so." Sid said before walking over to the fire pit to drop off the firewood. I looked around our clearing. Manny was giving a bored looking Peaches, Crash, and Eddie a lecture on why they can't leave the clearing alone anymore, but I couldn't find Ellie and Diego anywhere. I was about to go ask Manny where they were when, as if on cue, they emerged from the the bushes. Ellie went over to Manny and Diego came over to me, with quite a sulky expression.

"Listen... I.. I'm sorry about snapping at you like that." He said sitting down, trying to void my gaze.

"Yeah you really shouldn't have done that."

"I-I just don't want to end up losing you too."

"So what, you thought that yelling at me would keep me safe or something?" I said.

"Hey I'm sorry, ok!" He heaved a sigh before looking at me. "I was frustrated and tired and.. and I'm sorry. Alright?"

"It's ok, I guess. Just remember I can take you on anytime I want, softie."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah, whatever." He then proceeded to walk over to our small den under the large tree in the clearing, and I followed suit, laying down next to him once we got inside.

"You know I'm just worried about you, right?" He asked as he gently nuzzled my cheek.

"Yeah I know softie." I said as I nuzzled him back. "You dont need to be though, I can take care of myself". We then fell asleep next to eachother.

When I woke up it must have been late afternoon, and I was STARVING. We didn't actually get any breakfast since we got distracted by Hessen, and then had to rush back to the herd to warn them. I know that we had to all stick together, but I was just so hungry! There was a small stream not too far away from the clearing, and I could probably catch some fish there. I carefully got up not wanting to wake up Diego. As I neared the entrance of our den I heard him moan slightly.

"Where you goin?" He said groggily.

I turned around to face him. "Just going to get something to eat."

"But-"

"It's alright." I interrupted him. "I'm just going to go get some fish, I'll be right back." I gave him a small lick on his cheek before running into the forest.

Once I was surrounded by the trees of the jungle I started my way toward the stream. I was about ten yards away when I saw a rabbit out of the corner of my eye.

'Well it would be easier to catch…' I thought to myself as I stopped in my tracks, careful not to frighten the rodent. 'Oh what the hell?!'

I started to run after the rabbit through the dense under brush. Considering how small it was, it had no problem getting through all the bushes in its path, unlike me. I had some difficulty keeping up, but I still had it in my vision and I continued my chase.

Suddenly, I broke through the undergrowth and found myself in a large open field. The long, golden grass waved slightly in the wind, which was the only sound in the meadow. It would be a great hunting place for Diego, he would blend in perfectly with the grass.

Talking about hunting, I couldn't find the pray I had been chasing.

*sigh* "Guess I am going have fish after all." I said to myself outloud. Just as I was about to turn around and head back to the stream, I heard a rustle in the grass behind me. "Or maybe not."

I punched in the direction of the rustling, only to come in contact with absolutely nothing but the ground. surprised I opened my eyes and looked in front of me. My eyes immediately fell on to a pair of huge, brown paws.

"Hello there Shira." Said a low, growling voice, that sent shivers up my spine.

"Hessen" I growled back.

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><p><strong>So ya, tell me what u think, and what the next chapter will be like<strong>


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